Politics & populism key vocabulary

Word/Phrase Meaning
Abdicate (verb) Fail to fulfil or undertake (a responsibility or duty)
‘the government was accused of abdicating its responsibility’
Adhere (verb) Closely follow, observe, or represent.
‘the account adhered firmly to fact’
Amicable Characterized by friendliness and absence of argument.
‘an amicable settlement of the dispute’
Backlash A strong negative reaction by a large number of people,
especially to a social or political development.
‘a public backlash against racism’
Bigot A person who is intolerant towards those holding different
opinions.
‘don't let a few small-minded bigots destroy the good image of
the city’
Boost (verb) Help or encourage (something) to increase or improve.
‘a range of measures to boost tourism’
Bulwark A person or thing that acts as a defence.
‘the security forces are a bulwark against the breakdown of
society’
Concession A thing that is granted, especially in response to demands.
‘the government was unwilling to make any further
concessions’
Contradict (verb) Deny the truth of (a statement) by asserting the opposite.
‘the survey appears to contradict the industry's claims’
Dictate (verb) State or order authoritatively.
‘the tsar's attempts to dictate policy’
Emphasis Special importance, value, or prominence given to something.
‘they placed great emphasis on the individual's freedom’
Fester (verb) (of a negative feeling or a problem) become worse or more
intense, especially through long-term neglect or indifference.
‘below the surface, the old issues festered’

Folly Lack of good sense; foolishness.

‘an act of sheer folly’
Hardliner A member of a group, typically a political group, who adheres
uncompromisingly to a set of ideas or policies.
‘neither hardliners nor reformers would be likely to want him
as their leader’
Implement (verb) Put (a decision, plan, agreement, etc.) into effect.
‘the scheme to implement student loans’
Impeach (verb) Charge (the holder of a public office) with misconduct.
or
Call into question the integrity or validity of (a practice)
‘there is no desire to impeach the privileges of the House of
Commons’
Indigene An indigenous person
Indigenous Originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.
‘the indigenous peoples of Siberia’
Mandate An official order or commission to do something.
‘a mandate to seek the release of political prisoners’
Negotiate (verb) Try to reach an agreement or compromise by discussion.
‘they refused to negotiate with the rebels’
Obligation An act or course of action to which a person is morally or
legally bound; a duty or commitment.
Persuasion The action or process of persuading someone or of being
persuaded to do or believe something.
‘Monica needed plenty of persuasion before she actually left’
or
A belief or set of beliefs, especially religious or political ones.
‘writers of all political persuasions’
Polarise (verb) Divide or cause to divide into two sharply contrasting groups
or sets of opinions or beliefs.
‘the cultural sphere has polarized into two competing
ideological positions’
Presume (verb) Suppose that something is the case on the basis of
probability.
‘I presumed that the man had been escorted from the
building’
Recidivism The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend.
‘the prison has succeeded in reducing recidivism’
Sliding scale A scale of fees, taxes, wages, etc. that varies in accordance
with the variation of a particular standard.
‘the winners are paid on a sliding scale’
Status quo The existing state of affairs, especially regarding social or
political issues.
‘they have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo’
Transcend (verb) Be or go beyond the range or limits of (a field of activity or
conceptual sphere)
‘this was an issue transcending party politics’
Transition (verb) The process or a period of changing from one state or
condition to another.
‘students in transition from one programme to another’
Vex (verb) Make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried,
especially with trivial matters.
‘the memory of the conversation still vexed him’
Vindicate (verb) Clear (someone) of blame or suspicion.
‘hospital staff were vindicated by the inquest verdict’
or
Show or prove to be right, reasonable, or justified.
‘more sober views were vindicated by events’

Zero-sum Relating to or denoting a situation in which whatever is gained

by one side is lost by the other.
‘he heard that international trade was essentially a zero-sum
competition between nations’